Every season, writers comment that many decisions are made early in the New Year, yet only a few weeks later, those intentions are gathering dust. Guilt and discouragement soon set in, and before too long, those hopes and dreams are abandoned. Often inertia sets in and then we may feel worse than before we started!
How can we avoid this unsatisfying cycle?
CNN reports that as many as 100 million Americans make New Year's resolutions. Somewhere between 40 and 45 percent of those people stick to their resolutions six months later, says John Norcross, Ph.D., a psychology professor at the University of Scranton who has researched New Year's resolution outcomes. In fact, the success rate of resolutions is 10 times higher than the success rate of those without resolutions, who have only about zero to four percent chance of succeeding.
Dr. Norcross claims that it is not the type of resolution -- such as whether to stop smoking, lose weight, or exercise more -- but rather how attainable and realistic the resolution is. He has found that if you cannot measure your goal, it's not likely to work because vague goals are linked to vague results.
The next ingredient is genuine confidence that you can keep the resolution despite occasional setbacks. Many people start fast with a spurt of enthusiasm and then cannot sustain their efforts. In fact, about 75% of resolvers will be successful for one week, and that number drops to 40-46% by six months.
What factors help people move from contemplation to action? One of them is finding a "buddy." Usually as few as three phone calls can help people get started. It's not even necessary that buddies share the same resolution; what's essential is the feeling of shared support and the willingness to remind each other.
Some of us may believe that inspiration is one of the key ingredients to spark action. Norcross, however, has discovered that inspiration is short-lived. It might help for a week or two, while motivation keeps us going to sustain our efforts.
Norcross also suggests that we need to take resolutions seriously or not take them at all. It's just as effective to set a resolution on March 1st, your birthday, or the beginning of summer rather than to launch prematurely without a specific action plan.
Another factor, according to Dr. Norcross, is that people who have setbacks and recover actually felt strengthened in their resolve and efforts. Successful resolutions also become integrated into daily life so that they become healthy habits and eventually part of your lifestyle.
Maritza Parra, who has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show, suggests 5 tips for making New Year's resolutions everyday resolutions:
- Make a nightly list: Each night, list the top 3 tasks you will do toward your goal the next day; this helps you take baby steps every day toward your resolution.
- Get a coach or other professional to help you stay successful.
- Surround yourself with positive reminders of your resolutions, such as photographs, mottos, and little post it notes.
- Prune things that challenge your goals out of your life -- for example, if you've gotten into the habit of negative venting with a friend, you might want to eliminate these sessions and see what difference that makes..
- Celebrate! Review your list every night and celebrate even small progress and little victories.
Try some of these strategies and let us know about your successes by sending an email to mphillips@lmi.net. If we publish your story on the Reversing Chronic Pain blog, you'll receive a free teleseminar! Come on -- it's easy!
For more information on this topic, see "How to Make New Year's Resolutions Stick;" "New Year's Resolutions: How to Make Your Healthy Goals Stick;" and "Why New Year's Resolutions Suck (What To Do Instead)".
Enjoy the rest of January,
